Photo Credit: Todorean Gabriel

The following is a summary of “Association Between Medical Insurance, Access to Care, and Outcomes for Patients with Uveal Melanoma in the United States,” published in the November 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Marks et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate the association between insurance status and uveal melanoma (UM) care.  

They employed the National Cancer Database to identify patients with UM diagnosed between 2004 and 2017 and examined the association between patient sociodemographic characteristics, particularly insurance status, and UM care. 

The results showed that, among 7,677 patients, 50% had private insurance, 41% had Medicare, 4% had Medicaid, 3% had other government insurance, and 3% had no insurance. Most of the patients initially received brachytherapy (66%), followed by enucleation or resection (19%), and other treatments (15%). Compared to those with private insurance, Medicaid and uninsured were more likely to present with late-stage disease (P < .05). Patients with Medicare, Medicaid, and no insurance had higher odds of undergoing enucleation or resection and lower odds of receiving brachytherapy (P < .05 for all). Patients with Medicaid and uninsured had lower odds of receiving other treatments compared to enucleation or resection (P < .05). 

Investigators concluded that access barriers to UM care were linked to insurance status, resulting in later-stage presentation and more aggressive treatment. 

Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08820538.2024.2426479